For Women Saving the World

At a peace summit in Vancouver, the Dalai Lama made an extraordinary statement when he said that the world will be saved by the western women. This proclamation created a tsunami of responses in cyberspace. Can you imagine? The Dalai Lama saying it will be women that will save the world? As remarkable as this was to many, it was “duh” moment for me. I thought, of course, it’ll be women. We purchase 85% of the consumer goods in the United States. We can do right now by what we buy – and don’t buy. That was my “ah-ha” moment. That’s when I decided to write and speak on this topic.
Let’s look at the numbers. It is estimated that American women spend about five trillion dollars annually. That’s over half of the US GDP. We purchase everything from autos to health care. Here are some quick stats on our purchases:

by Carolyn Parrs
This is Part 2 of 3 on "How the Collective Power of Women Can Change the World"
Read Part 1
QUICKIE QUIZ #2: On April 26, 1777, who rode through the towns of New York and Connecticut warning everyone that the British were coming, and gathered enough volunteers to push back the British army the very next day? Not Paul Revere. It was Sybil Luddington who accomplished this feat at the ripe age of 16. Her ride was twice as long as Paul’s but unfortunately most of us never heard of it -- or her.
“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” says poet, Maya Angelou. How important it is for us to be invited to the table – especially now. “The fortunes of nations are inextricably tied to the fortunes of women,” says Hillary Rodham Clinton in the foreword to The International Human Rights of Women. “It is this simple: where women flourish, her families flourish. And where families flourish, communities and nations flourish. Issues affecting women and their families are not ‘soft’ issues to be relegated to the sidelines of serious debate, rather, they are among the hardest and most important issues we face.”

No sunlight. No fresh air. Enclosed in darkness to plump up in an insanely artificial way. That’s the reality for most chickens being farmed today. And if the farmers under contract with the Big Boys do not agree to raise their livestock that way, “They hold their contract over their heads,” says third generation chicken farmer, Carole Morison. She was mad as hell and just couldn’t take it anymore.

Be the Change

Stories from our community on being the change we need in the world.

[caption id="attachment_3365" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Susan Collins, a senator from Maine, started the group that led to the eventual reopening of the government"][/caption]

The government shutdown is finally over — at least until the next time the budget clock runs out. It seems that a lot of stubbornness made that mess. According to reports from Capital Hill, it seems that the women in the Senate were the ones that cleaned it up. They were willing to go across party lines to reach a solution. An article in Huffpost Women illuminates the situation.

It’s funny how starting with a simple idea to make little things can grow to where it bumps up against big things.

When I see something like the recent controversy over the US Olympic team uniforms made overseas, I compare it to my experience with my company, Teres Kids. I started my company to make the world’s most comfortable children’s clothing.

The clearest path to super comfortable clothes led to organic cotton, then to made in America, then to superior quality, incredible durability, and – Presto! – outstanding consumer value.

I truly believe the reason my work has been so successful is because it’s infused with my passion for life – passion born from a place of deep compassion, for all creatures and our beautiful Mother Earth. My collectors can feel this and have expressed how deeply inspired they are by the love built into every design and how good it feels to wear jewelry and support a company that celebrates life, by honoring ethical practice and raising awareness.

My interest in the environment developed from a childhood spent mostly outdoors. Countless hours riding my horse bareback deep into the wooded hills near my home – never failed to return me to my souls essence. Nature was my altar as much then, as it is today. It’s the place where I can hear and feel my heart’s wisdom; not only does it inspire my creativity, but anchors it. My relationship with animals is no different. They are so pure, present and without judgment – I always feel relaxed in their company, like I can really be myself and love without constraint.

When you love something unconditionally, it is natural to want to do anything in your power to protect it. My real work as an artist is to spread compassion and bring awareness to the suffering innocent, and the abusive practices that are detrimentally impacting our Earth. As a business owner and entrepreneur, I feel a responsibility to affect positive change in my immediate environment – and on a global level. Implementing ethical practice in business requires a lot of research, attention to detail, and in many cases extra expense – but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I get to stand behind (and in front of) a company that brings more beauty into the world, while helping eliminate what is not so beautiful. My dedication to this level of integrity has also created amazing opportunities to collaborate with bigger companies making a powerful impact socially and environmentally.

My guest today is one of the reasons this show exists. Liberty Phoenix Lord took a deeply painful experience, the loss of her baby, and started a green business so no other mother would have to ever experience what she did. Today, she is the owner of INDIGOGreen, the premier green building store in Gainesville, FL., that provides healthy products for homes and offices nationwide. Listen to her unbelievably moving story on Women Of Green Podcast.

Sustainability is a much-used term today in the design community. Most often, we connect it to our hopes and effort to sustain the environment. Products and buildings are deemed sustainable when they don’t deplete or damage the world. We now gauge sustainability and greenness by numerical statistics. LEED ratings, eco-labels, green seals, life-cycle assessments all have their place in making us more aware of the dangers of our material world.

But I wonder if these ratings go far enough. I wonder if they take into account the larger issues of sustainability. If a product can be produced using renewable resources and can later be broken down easily, we give it high marks.Yes, these products are green. Yes, these products sustain our physical environment. But I wonder about the sustainability of our social or cultural environment. I think about sustainability in a broader sense. I think about the sustainability of creativity and manufacturing and craftsmanship. I think about the sustainability of culture.

Rebecca Salminen Witt has dedicated herself for the past 13 years to greening of Detroit. And she has her job cut out for her. More than half the citizens have moved out. Houses are selling for as low as $15,000.00. And in one recent article, estimate 40 acres of land inside Detroit’s city limits are abandoned. That’s the bad news. Or is that the good news? Listen up!

Think Global. Act Local. We’ve all heard that mantra. My guest, Vicki Pozzebon, lives and breathes that 24/7. She’s the Executive Director of the Santa Fe Alliance, an all-volunteer organization dedicated to supporting and helping sustain independent, locally-owned businesses, and she’s here to tell us what’s up in our local economies and how to make yours thrive.

You say you want a Revolution? Well, if it’s up to my guest, it would be a Mamalution. And John Lennon would be proud of her because Imani has been simmering this idea for a long time and now with the release of her new book, The “Absence of Soil,” her goal is to access 5 million consumers, mostly women to redefine how business is done.

Green goes beyond our physical environment to include our social environment. After all, what happens in our home effects what’s happening across the oceans. All the way to Zimbabwe. Jennifer Kyker, my guest, knows that. And after living in Zimbabwe as a teenager studying music, she returns years later as an adult helping orphaned teenage girls get an education. Her non-profit organization, Tariro, is dedicated to empowering and educating young women in Zimbabwe communities affected by HIV/AID. And that starts with paper, pencils and a uniform. See, green comes in many shades.

Although most consumers in the United States remain unaware that 90 percent of what sits on grocery store shelves are genetically modified, increasing numbers are demanding product labeling as done in Europe. Why are US companies who readily use GM ingredients in their products so reluctant to accurately label their products? Studies show that the majority of US consumers would choose non-GM foods IF they knew the foods they were buying contained GM ingredients.

Erin Adams has grown her company, Erin Adams Design, into the leading innovator in the arts and architectural industry. Conducting business with a social conscience, Erin views the idea of “green” as an overall approach to the way she does business — from collaborating with non-profits, to utilizing eco-friendly materials, to pushing the boundaries of convention. She is turning the green building industry inside out and her secret ingredient is beauty.